First lady Melania Trump appeared in a public service announcement wearing a face mask and urging others to do the same when not at home.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends “that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings where social distancing measures can be difficult to maintain,” Trump said. “Remember, this does not replace the importance of social distancing. It is another recommended guideline to keep us all safe.”
Trump did not wear a mask in a video in which she stressed mask-wearing, but did in a subsequent photo she shared.
As the CDC continues to study the spread of the COVID-19, they recommend people wear cloth face coverings in public settings where social distancing measures can be difficult to maintain. Remember, this does not replace the importance of social distancing. pic.twitter.com/eF3o33CUVS
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 9, 2020
As the CDC studies the spread of #COVID-19, they recommend people wear cloth face coverings in public settings when social distancing can be hard to do. Remember, this does NOT replace the importance of social distancing. pic.twitter.com/HRaQHFgXxn
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 9, 2020
The first lady has repeatedly urged the general public to wear cloth masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously,” she tweeted Friday and Sunday.
Her Friday tweet was posted minutes after President Trump announced the new recommendation to wear nonmedical, cloth face coverings, reversing his administration’s previous guidance that they were unnecessary for people who were not sick.
“I don’t think I’m going to be doing it,” the president said, explaining that he thought he would look foolish wearing a mask when communicating with world leaders.
“Somehow, sitting in the Oval Office, sitting behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know, I just don’t see it for myself,” he said.
The president did say that his wife would wear a face mask, but noted the guidance was voluntary.
“She feels that way,” Trump told reporters. “I would wear one. Would you like me to wear one right now? That would be a little awkward, I guess, but again, I would wear one if I thought it was important. She likes the idea of wearing it, she does. A lot of people do. Again, it’s a recommendation, and I understand that recommendation. and I’m OK with it.”
